Blood Debt
by DaphneMoonsweeper
Summary: Admiral Noyce asks Bridger for a favor, with dangerous consequences.
1. Chapter One

A/N: _seaQuest DSV_ and all characters belong to Amblin/Universal Entertainment. Not mine, basically.

* * *

"No. Absolutely not." Captain Nathan Bridger shook his head and turned away from the vidlink screen.

"Nathan," Admiral Bill Noyce cajoled, "It's not like I'm asking you to play host to General Thomas for three months."

Bridger snorted. "The principle's the same. seaQuest is not a taxi service." He busied himself shuffling paperwork on his desk.

Noyce rolled his eyes. "Come on, Nathan. This is a special case. I wouldn't ask if it weren't important."

Bridger sighed heavily, his resolve cracking slightly. After all, it was true his old friend wouldn't spring this on him if it weren't important. "Can I at least think about it?" he asked.

There was a ghost of a smirk. "She's already on her way."

Bridger slammed his hands down on his desk. "Dammit, Bill!" he exclaimed. "You can't keep springing this kind of thing on me!"

Noyce chuckled. "Sure I can," he replied. "I outrank you." His tone grew serious. "Listen, Nathan, I know it's short notice and I know you're not happy, but you have to promise you'll make sure she's kept safe."

"Oh, sure, now I'm a bodyguard," Bridger snapped.

"It's just for a little while," Noyce said by way of apology. "Listen, Nathan, she's in trouble. Otherwise I wouldn't have sent her to you."

Bridger let out a breath. "I can't fix everyone's problems, Bill," he groused.

Noyce shook his head. "I'm not asking you to fix her, I'm just asking you to let her stay on seaQuest until other arrangements can be made. That's all."

"Why do I get the feeling there's more you're not telling me?" Bridger asked warily.

Noyce smiled slightly. "Have I ever kept anything from you?" he asked.

Bridger raised an eyebrow. "I hope you don't really want me to answer that."

The admiral glanced at something beyond Bridger's line of sight. "Look, Nathan, I appreciate this. I have to go, but call me when she gets there."

"Wait a second!" Bridger exclaimed. "You can't just-"

"Goodbye, Nathan."

Bridger again slammed his hand against the desk as the vidlink went black.

This was going to be a long few months.

* * *

TBC... 


	2. Chapter Two

"I don't get it, Luke," Tony Piccolo said, as he grabbed an apple to add to his lunch tray. "What'd Liz ever do to you?"

"Frankly, Tony, that's none of your damned business," came the somewhat petulant response from his roommate, who was eyeing the remaining fruit dubiously. "And don't call me Luke."

"Oh, come on! I mean, you didn't even give her a chance. You just hate the poor kid, for no reason." Picking up his tray, Tony waited patiently for his obstinate friend to finish picking out his lunch and follow. Mostly, though, he waited for an answer that he suspected was not going to be forthcoming.

Lucas gave up the idea of finding something that looked appetizing, and grabbed a bottle of water to add to his mostly empty tray. He assumed that if he didn't respond to Tony, eventually the subject of his annoyance would go away.

Unfortunately, the subject of his annoyance was already sitting at a table with most of his friends.

She said something, and flipped her hair in that annoying way of hers, and the whole table erupted in laughter.

Of course they did.

She was hilariously funny, after all. And smart, and pretty, and far more interesting than Lucas could possibly be.

He was just their resident genius/computer nerd, after all.

She was the one who was interested in the same things as his friends. They talked about sports, and life, and her oh-so-special art, things that Lucas couldn't possibly know anything about, spoiled brat that he was. She was the girl who had practically clawed her way off the streets to make something of herself, while Lucas hadn't had to work for a thing in his life. She was freaking perfect.

And Tony was headed right for the table she was sitting at.

Naturally.

Because he hadn't told Tony a dozen times that he was absolutely not going to have lunch with little miss perfect.

Maybe it had been thirteen times, and not a mere dozen.

That was it, he was not going to spend his lunch being tortured by his own friends. He turned back to the counter and put his tray down, trying very hard not to crack it in his annoyance, by slamming it down. Grabbing the water and his sandwich, he turned back to the swiftly retreating form of his roommate. He wanted to warn Tony that he was going, but Tony had already entered the circle of doom, the area immediately around the table in question.

And once one entered the circle of doom, they were forced to sit and eat with the others; those whose minds had already been destroyed by proximity to the perfection of Elizabeth Peterson.

Better to die alone and in the lab, he thought bitterly to himself.

Without a word to anyone, he left the galley, eating his sandwich as he went.

"Hey Tony, what's up with Lucas?" a concerned looking Miguel Ortiz asked, as Tony approached the table.

"Huh?" a confused Tony Piccolo looked to the spot where he expected his friend to be. "Where'd he go?"

"I think that's what Miguel was trying to ask you," the amused voice of Tim O-Neill responded.

"Well, damn. I dunno. He didn't say anything." Still confused, Tony sat and started to eat his lunch.

"I'm sure he had a lot to do. He's a busy man, after all," came the quiet voice from the end of the table; trying hard not to sound hurt.

"Man?" Tony asked incredulously. "He's a kid!"

Sighing heavily, Elizabeth just shook her head and gave up trying to convince Tony of anything. Lucas Wolenczak was not a child, whether the captain and crew realized it or not. Catching her eye, Miguel gave her a wink that told her he was aware of her frustration, and agreed with her.

Smiling in return, she went back to her lunch.

If only she could figure out why Lucas hated her so much...

* * *

Next chapter coming soon!


	3. Chapter Three

Standard disclaimers apply

* * *

Usually, Lucas looked forward to shore leave. It was the only time he was able to get off the boat, stretch his legs (as it were), and do something other than troubleshoot computer problems and argue with his roommate. 

Well, he still argued with his roommate, but least the scenery was different. And Miguel could usually be counted on to trade whatever he was drinking for whatever non-alcoholic pansy soda Lucas was drinking. So yeah, generally, life was good on shore leave.

But not this time.

This time, Lucas found himself having to hang out with _her_. With her perfect hair, her perfect body, her perfect… Lucas stopped himself, realizing how ridiculous he sounded. She wasn't perfect. She couldn't be perfect – nobody was. So why was he so damn jealous? He was smarter than her, wasn't he? He'd been on the boat longer – they'd been _his_ friends first. They certainly wouldn't dump him in order to hang out with her, would they?

Somehow it didn't seem that way as Lucas followed the small group from the dock to Port o' Call, their usual first stop for the evening. He'd spent the entire day watching them play volleyball on the beach, and she was… good. Lucas had decided he wasn't really interested in watching his friends oogling Liz Peterson's perfect body, so he worked on finishing his notes for a grant proposal Wendy wanted him to submit.

"What do you want to do after this, Lucas?"

Lucas turned and tried not to scowl at Liz's question. What did she care what he wanted to do after this? After all, it was all about _her_ – at least as far as his friends were concerned.

"What does it matter?" he snapped, furious with himself for acting so childish. He should just get a tattoo across his forehead that said, _Doesn't play well with others_. She was trying to be nice, he told himself. Why couldn't he try to be nice back?

Because it didn't work that way.

Liz looked a little hurt, and Lucas felt a tad guilty – but just a tad. "Well," she said, "because _I_ care what you want to do." She put her hand on his shoulder, and Lucas struggled not to pull away immediately. "I know you don't like me," she continued, lowering her voice so the rest of the group couldn't hear. "But I'd really appreciate it if you gave me a chance."

Lucas stopped and faced her, effectively dropping her hand from his shoulder. The girl was perceptive, he'd give her that. "Look," he said, "it's not that I don't like you…" But it was, so he let himself trail off. "I think I just want to get some sleep."

Liz nodded, still looking a little insulted, and Lucas jogged away to catch up with Miguel. "Hey, I'm gonna go back to the boat," he informed his friend. The fact he was going back to the boat in order to pout about not being able to hang out with his friends without _her_ there pissed him off, but what else could he do besides suck it up and deal? Lucas Wolenczak wasn't particularly good at sucking it up and dealing, so he chose the admittedly more melodramatic route.

"Why?" Miguel asked curiously. "It's dollar shots at the Port." He narrowed his eyes at Lucas. "You _never_ miss dollar shots. Are you feeling okay?" His tone was good-natured, but his eyes were worried. Lucas hated it when Miguel did that – sounded one way and looked another.

Lucas shrugged, trying not to turn around and glare at Liz. "I'm just tired, and I'm sick of following her around."

Miguel shook his head. "You've gotta get over this thing with Liz, Lucas," he said. "She's not out to get you, and it's not like we're not still your friends."

Although this had pretty much been what Lucas had been telling himself, the teen couldn't help having to swallow a ball of anger that had somehow gotten lodged in his throat.

"I don't feel like arguing," Lucas countered. "I'll see you back at the boat." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction, back towards the boat.

Instead of going directly back – which would look suspicious under the best of circumstances – Lucas decided to take the long way around, over the boardwalk and through the small arcade. Hands shoved in his pockets, still fuming to himself, Lucas was paying less than close attention to his surroundings. He'd been down this path probably a hundred times – there was no point in paying attention. Besides, he had too much to think about.

About how she was infiltrating his life.

About how much of a jerk he'd been lately.

About how a hand was clamped over his mouth…

_What the hell?_

_

* * *

_

TBC..._  
_


	4. Chapter Four

Sorry about the long wait... I am still writing this, though.

* * *

The bridge of the seaQuest was in chaos.

From Elizabeth's experience, Nathan Bridger wasn't a man given to constant fits of temper. When he did lose his cool, though, it was quite a sight to behold. Even the usually unflappable Tony Piccolo was cringing at the captain's tone.

Elizabeth had tried to defend them, to take the blame upon herself, but had quickly given up when the captain would not hear what she had to say. Obviously, the man was not in a listening mood. And it was her fault, really. She had been the one wanted to go out. Being stuck on the SeaQuest had been driving her stir-crazy.

From the looks on the faces of various crew members, she wondered if that sort of thing happened often.

"Let me see if I understand this. You took Elizabeth, who is here for her own protection, off the ship." A few guilty nods were directed at the captain, and all eyes on the bridge were downcast. "Then, you followed up this incredible lapse in judgment, by letting Lucas go off on his own."

The captain glared at all of them for good measure, and it was obvious that more than one was convinced this 'lapse' meant the end of their career.

"And what would you have had them do, Nathan?" Dr. Westphalen's voice cut the tension so suddenly that it made more than one shamed crew member nearly gasp.

The captain, if it was possible, seemed even more stunned than those that he'd been dressing down. "What?"

Sighing impatiently, Kristin Westphalen shook her head as if to ask 'why do I always have to be the voice of reason?' "Really, Nathan. They did a foolish thing, it's true. But what would you have had them do when Lucas decided to pout? Drop everything and go running?"

That stopped him right in his self righteous tracks. Elizabeth wondered, what would he have had them do?

Well, not go out to begin with was the obvious answer. On the other hand, under other circumstances, namely circumstances that didn't involve putting the civilian that they were supposed to be protecting in danger, she supposed that he wouldn't have seen a problem with the crew letting Lucas find his own way home.

Lucas had decided, as Lucas seemed to often do, to take his toys and go home. The crew hadn't made him leave.

Nathan sighed heavily, as he seemed to realize that she was right. He was being unrealistic, if only somewhat so.

However, Elizabeth realized, he did have the right to be annoyed by the fact that they had gone out at all.

Even if his anger was probably just a product of his concern…

Where could Lucas be?


End file.
